Practice

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By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @Tobalical

The point of racing has always been to prove that you are faster than the competition, but in NASCAR – at least since the inception of the restrictor plate in 1988 – the 200 mph lap average has really been where the sanctioning body has stepped in to slow the cars down in the name of safety.

Buddy Baker was the first driver in NASCAR to ever record a 200mph lap time in testing. Baker put down a lap of 200.447 mph at Talladega Superspeedway in March of 1970. However a driver didn’t officially break the 200mph barrier in an official qualifying session until Benny Parsons accomplished the feat in 1982. From 1982 to 1987 speeds slowly crept faster and faster until Bill Elliott took the pole for the 1987 Talladega 500 with a speed of over 212 mph.

Continue reading “Column: I Wanna Go Fast: Drivers Topping 201Mph In Thursday Test Session At Michigan”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Teams Test At Newly Repaved Michigan International Speedway
Teams On The Fast Track For Second Week In A Row

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 14, 2012) – For the second consecutive week, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams tested on a newly repaved race track and the reaction coming out of Thursday’s test session at Michigan International Speedway ranged from “holding your breath” to “being quite a rush.”

Speeds exceeded the 200 mile per hour barrier, with four drivers posting fastest lap times in excess of 200 miles per hour in the morning session when conditions were ideal for going fast. Teams arrived a day early to prepare for Sunday’s running of the 44th annual Quicken Loans 400 at MIS (1 p.m., TNT).

Continue reading “Speeds Topping 200mph at Michigan International Speedway”

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After two practice sessions for the inaugural Better Half Dash at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jacquelyn Butler, the girlfriend of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan, topped the charts at the conclusion the second session, held Wednesday.

“It feels good to be the quickest right now, because I’m a very competitive person,” said Butler. “David always drags me with him to Summer Shootout and I think it definitely helps having watched a lot of Legend and Bandolero racing.”

(Photo: Charlotte Motor Speedway)

Butler has been preparing for this event with the help of Ragan and even has some previous racing experience.

Continue reading “David Ragan’s Girlfriend Jacquelyn Butler Paces Better Half Dash Practice”